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Valve releases Portal-themed test to find out if your PC is VR-ready

Do you have any idea if your computer is virtual reality-ready or not? Perhaps this new tool from Valve will help you find out.

Valve, the game developer that’s working with HTC to launch the Vive VR headset, has just launched a new tool to help you check whether or not your computer is capable of running virtual reality content. To run the test, you’ll just need to download a simple app and let it do its thing. It should take more than a couple minutes from start to finish.

What does the test entail? Once you download the SteamVR Performance Test at the link below, your computer will be tested with a 2-minute sequence from Valve’s Aperture Robot Repair VR demonstration. After the app collects the data, it will determine whether your system is capable of running virtual reality content at 90fps. It’ll also tell you whether or not the VR content can tune the visual fidelity up to a level that’s recommended.

If you learn that your computer is incapable of of running VR content, it will let you know whether the problem lies in the capabilities of the graphics card, processor or both.

To run the test, there are a few recommend system requirements. You’ll need to have a PC running Windows 7 SP1, 8.1 or 10, powered by an Intel i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater, as well as 4GB of RAM. You should also have a graphics card that’s equivalent to or greater than the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 290. Interested? Click the link below for the download.